Contemplations from Kim: An October for Belonging
By Kim Wargo, Head of School
October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month and National ADHD Awareness Month – and, of course, we live this awareness everyday at Lab.
Click here to listen to an audio recording of this month's column.
While the temperatures tell us otherwise, fall is here and we are almost halfway through the first quarter of our school year. We have hosted a community cocktail party, successful Back to School Nights for all divisions, and are settling fully into our routines.
This month of October presents many opportunities for us to reflect on our schoolwide theme of purpose and our aspirational goal of ensuring belonging for all members of our community.
October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month and National ADHD Awareness Month – and, of course, we live this awareness everyday at Lab. Our students recently had the opportunity to participate in the Dear Dyslexia Postcard project, “an opportunity to showcase the diversity of the dyslexic experience.” I encourage you to take a look at the many representations from dyslexic thinkers of all ages, from students to professionals.
In addition to the postcard project, some of our Upper School students will visit Capitol Hill this month, spending time with Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), who co-chairs the Congressional Dyslexic Caucus with Congressman Bruce Westerman (R-AR). Students will have the opportunity to share their perspectives with Congresswoman Brownley, whose daughter is dyslexic. Later this month, we will once again “Go Red for Dyslexia.” We invite everyone in the Lab community to wear red on October 27 – reclaiming the color that is often associated with the red pen that denotes “mistakes.”
These celebrations of dyslexic thinking and the power of ADHD are important for our students. We know that having a learning difference presents challenges, and we work hard to help our students overcome those challenges while embracing their unique ways of thinking and learning – those attributes that make them who they are.
This form of self-acceptance and self-advocacy is critically important for our students, and, indeed, for all of us. At Lab, we know that our students feel a sense of belonging by virtue of being part of a community where embracing your learning differences is the normative experience.
Lab strives to be a community where our students, families, and everyone who works here is proud of who they are and feels seen and appreciated for all parts of their identities. We also strive to be a community whose members honor the unique identities of those around them. It is for this reason that we celebrate many different identities at Lab, most recently through LatinX History Month and our upcoming Pride Week in conjunction with LGBTQIA+ History Month.
In recognition of our aspirational work of acceptance and belonging, our Lower School has designated October as “Be Kind Month.” Part of the national campaign to raise awareness against bullying, the motto for “Be Kind Month” is “unite for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.”
As Dr. Perry recently reminded us, at Lab we strive to live up to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the “beloved community,” one of an inclusive and equitable society that embraces diversity and promotes love, compassion, and cooperation among its members.
This is the Lab we aspire to be.
